Path to Redemption
by Phenomiracle
Summary: Ultear has been given a new leash on life. To protect and care for the ones her mother sacrificed her life for. This story reenvisions the three months after Fairy Tail's return from Tenrou up to the start of the Grand Magic Games. GrayTear primarily, but some JERZA
1. Chapter 1

**HEY GUYS! Hope you're enjoying the summer! As well as the filler arc in the anime and the Grand Magic Games Arc in the manga!**

**So anyway, this is just my second story ever. :D**

**The focus in here will be primarily Ultear and Gray, but with plenty of JellalXErza thrown in, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Laxus would have beaten Hades, NOT Natsu.**

The dimly-lit pub was exceptionally noisy and busier than ever, the bartender noted. Well, given the news that had erupted fresh from Magnolia hours before, it wasn't surprising in the least that mages, his most frequent customers, had flocked to his bar and began to engage themselves in either casual, serious, or joy-filled discussions regarding the discovery and return of the prominent members of Fairy Tail from Tenrou Island.

"What!" Meredy exclaimed loudly, causing Ultear to lose her cool and slap her head.

"Keep it down, Meredy!" Ultear hissed to her. "The last thing we want is to be caught NOW, of all times!"

"Ow…relax, Ul, nobody can hear us anyway, there's too much noise." Meredy frowned, rubbing the hood of her cloak where Ultear had hit her.

"In any case," the blue-haired mage sitting with them spoke in quiet yet affirmative tone, bringing the attention of the two other women to him, "I think that we'll be able to solve the mystery of the dark presence we feel at the Grand Magic Games. We should now focus on how we'll contact Fairy Tail and coordinate with them."

Ultear suppressed her smile before speaking. "Right. No matter how we do this, I'm pretty sure the person we should feel the most safe contacting is Erza. We should speak to her, first."

"Y-you think so! I agree!" Jellal said excitedly before instantly lowering his head to hide his red blushes of realization as Ultear chuckled. "Seven years and still nothing's changed, huh?" Meredy said while giggling.

"You two done?" Jellal called out tiredly, embarrassed. The two quieted down. "In all honesty, though, I agree with the initial idea you had, Jellal," Ultear said, "we should contact Fairy Tail. But we have to be careful about this at the same time."

"About what? Fairy Tail is filled with nice people." Meredy asked, instantly thinking of Juvia. Jellal lifted his head.

"About WHO we contact. We don't know if we could trust all of them to not hand us over to the Council. Fairy Tail has pretty much hit rock-bottom over the past years, so I'm pretty sure there are a few members who would like to restore its reputation and relevance in the magical world. What better way to do that than to capture three fugitive mages with heavy bounty on their heads?" He explained. "I'm pretty sure that we could trust a few people that come to mind, though," he said, nodding to Ultear.

"Yeah. As I said before, there isn't any doubt that Erza is one of the best options, if not the best." Ultear said. "We can trust her."

"Right, OK, we've got one person. Anyone else?" Jellal said, looking at the two. He focused particularly on Ultear, who look conflicted.

"Juvia-san. She's trustworthy." Meredy offered. Jellal and Ultear looked at her skeptically.

"Erm…according to you, wasn't she last seen chasing you with, and I quote, 'demonic eyes'?" Ultear asked.

"Yeah, but she was acting under orders, though." Meredy explained dully, looking at Ultear as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Ultear mentally slapped herself. Well, given how highly Meredy respected Ultear's judgement herself, it shouldn't have come with much surprise that Meredy had found Juvia's almost irrational dedication to Gray to be reasonable.

"Gray…" Ultear mumbled. Thoughts of ice mage came rushing back to her. How he had changed her for the better. How he had saved her from darkness. She was furious at herself for being unable to be there for him, when he and his comrades were in deep holes against Hades. She was devastated after hearing that Tenrou Island had been destroyed by Acnologia. Unfortunately, the Magic Council had received reports from its navy fleet that Grimiore Heart's airship had been sighted flying away from Tenrou Island, and how an investigation for members had erupted in full force. Meredy and she were forced into hiding, though she would never forget Gray. She had even marked a grave for him near her mother's house in the snowy hills of Isvan. After doing thorough research, Ultear found her mother's second pupil, Lyon Bastia. She didn't know how he would react to her meeting him, and chose not to reveal herself to him. She had always sworn to herself, however, that she would watch over him as an older sister, to protect him. She would not allow harm to come the person her own mother gave her life to protect, especially after she was unable to save one of her students.

"Ul." Meredy called out to her. Ultear broke out of her thoughts and looked at her two partners. Meredy's eyes were filled with concern, while Jellal showed a looked of understanding.

"Allright, here's who I have in mind, since it'll take too long to come up with a good list. I'm thinking we have all the people who fought alongside me against the Oracion Seis. They fought the soldiers who came to arrest me. Along with two others." Jellal said, sparing Ultear of any embarrassment, which she was grateful for.

"…and who exactly are they?" Ultear asked cautiously despite herself. Jellal closed his eyes and focused on remembering.

"Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and two flying cats." He said. Excitement gripped at Ultear, she would able to see Gray! "Sounds perfectly fine to me, Jellal," she said, smiling.

"What about Juvia?" Meredy said. "Listen, I know her better than you two do. I'm sure I told you how she taught me the strength and value of love. She is not someone who would betray anyone, even if it may be a former enemy." She pleaded. Jellal and Ultear simply looked at each other. Ultear was overcome with guilt, given how she had actually almost killed Juvia right in front of Meredy. She clearly owed her. "I agree with her, Jellal. Juvia should be included." Ultear said.

Jellal looked between the two, seeing the conviction in their faces. "Allright, Juvia is in too. So we have got them-" he counted on his fingers "-eight."

"Now, as to how we should contact them…" Ultear began.

"Hold on a second," Jellal said, looking around. People had begun to leave the bar, which was understandable, the time for nighttime was approaching. The noise level had dropped noticeably, which forced people to talk even quieter to avoid being overheard. "I think we should discuss this elsewhere," he said. Ultear and Meredy looked around and agreed.

The three headed out into the night. As part of not drawing attention to themselves, they split up before converging at the entrance to the hiking trail two hours later. After making sure they weren't followed, they began to trek back their hideout, a small cabin on the other side of the hill facing the town.

"Hey Jellal…what the hell do you plan on telling Erza when you guys finally meet?" Ultear asked as they walked.

"W-what? Why…what makes you think I have something…to tell her?" Jellal spluttered, losing his composure.

"Huh? I was talking about your memory, and how you got it back." Ultear said. A smile crossed her face. "You really thought I meant you much you love her?" She and Meredy laughed at their comrade's lack of poise.

"God, you two are like little gossipy schoolgirls, you know that?" Jellal said, feeling highly annoyed.

"Funny, coming from a guy who blushes like one." Ultear retorted.

"DAMN IT!" Jellal cursed as he threw his hood up to hide his red-tainted cheeks as Meredy and Ultear laughed louder than ever.

**Reviews are love. **

**I'll update weekly, hopefully :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Discovery

**Allright! Update-shupdate one day earlier than promised!**

**Thanks for the reviews and alerts, guys, I REALLY apppreciate it.**

** demonwithasoul -Means a lot coming from you, believe it or not, you're the one who inspired me into writing this. I loved "Frozen Hearts."**

** michaluna -YES! I have updated :)**

** TimeBomber -Thanks! I really noticed the lack of GrayxUltear stories, so I decided to write one up.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, I would stop treating the female lead of the story like trash -.- (Those who read Chapter 291 would understand)**

Day one of partying was coming to a close at Fairy Tail.

Gray sighed in relaxation as he propped himself on his elbows, staring off into the golden sunset. It had been one hell of a day. He had woken for the first time in seven years, (though it merely felt like hours to him), gone home to find his and his friends' worlds warped and completely different, and spent the day in awkward celebration. Not only that, his senior, Lyon decided to stop by, along with his Lamia Scale cronies. Speaking of that bastard…

"You know how great the difference in our strength is now, right?" Lyon smirked from his position right next to Gray. As expected, both of them were shirtless. "I mean, I was always considerably stronger than you before, but now you're several leagues behind me, Gray." Lyon boasted.

"Kiss my ass." Gray groaned irritably. There was no doubting his last words; Lyon had most likely covered some far ground in training and honing his skills in his magic. It highly pissed Gray that he was now somewhat weaker than two of his rivals, Natsu and Lyon.

"Now Juvia will definitely see how pathetic of a man you've become and fall for me, instead." Lyon said, watching Juvia below as she, Lisanna, and Mirajane inspected the guild's garden as Kinana explained the different crops the guild was growing to help sustain itself economically.

Gray chose to ignore this and began pondering. "What's next?" He thought. Before the S-Class Exams, his objective had always been clear. He would live his life perfecting his teacher's precious Maker Magic, using Natsu's rivaling skills as motivation to continue his training. Now, though, with Natsu having acquired Lightning Dragon Slayer powers, he was left behind in the dust.

Lyon glanced back at Gray and frowned. While Lyon certainly had missed teasing his junior, this depressed Gray was starting to get on his nerves. He decided to change the subject.

"I don't know if you know about this yet, but a full investigation had been launched for Grimoire Heart members seven years ago." Lyon said, thinking of something to talk about.

"Really?" Gray responded, somewhat shocked. He then remembered that Master Makarov had spared Hades, and that there were still some Kin of Purgatory who were alive prior to Natsu's, Lucy's, Erza's, Wendy's, and his faceoff with Hades. He remembered Ultear, and the intense battle they had. He remembered thinking that the revival of the Tenrou Tree was her doing. Where had she gone? Had she managed to get off the island? Or was she still there, even now? A sudden panic came over him as he thought that.

"Yeah," Lyon said after a while, studying his junior's face seriously, "apparently Grimoire Heart's airship was seen leaving Tenrou Island by several navy ships prior to the island's…destruction."

Gray calmed down; he had to put aside his panic for now. He would figure this out. "And how successful had the Council been in this investigation?" He asked.

"They've detained most of the suspected members. That information was made public." Lyon said.

Gray looked at Lyon and narrowed his eyes. "Made public, huh? So what information hasn't been released?" He asked.

Lyon sighed but chuckled. "Still sharp as ever, huh Gray? Well…I'm not supposed to be talking about this this…but since it sort of concerns the two of us, I'll tell you anyway." Gray listened closely.

"After interrogating the detained Grimoire Heart members, the Council discovered the existence of a higher league of mages within the guild called the Seven Kin of Purgatory. They suspect that they may still be at large, and actually responsible for the breakout of Jellal Fernandes." Lyon explained.

"What! Jellal broke out!" Gray exclaimed loudly in shocked. Lyon punched Gray in the gut, hard.

"Lower your voice, you idiot!" He whispered. Gray rubbed his gut in pain, struggling to breathe. The two of them chanced a glance down on the ground to see if anyone heard them. No one was in sight. Lyon breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately for the two of them, a red-haired mage had heard the name of her precious friend at the doors of the guild hall, and decided to lean against the building where she would stay out of sight, but still within earshot.

"You know Jellal?" Lyon asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we've met. Bit of a jerk initially, but last time I remembered him he seemed like a good person." Gray said, finally managed to catch his breath.

"Oh…you Fairy Tail clowns make friends everywhere you go, huh?" Lyon said, smiling. A moment of silence passed between the two.

"How do you know about this? The Seven Kin of Purgatory and all?" Gray asked.

"Oh, right. The Council didn't want to create mass panic, so they decided to release this information only to certain top guilds in Fiore. Lamia Scale was one of them. Even then, the Council mandated to the Guild Masters that such information should only go to ones that are most trustworthy in the guild. Our Master, Babasaama-" Lyon explained as Gray interrupted with a snort.

"Your master…who?" Gray laughed.

"Ugh…our Master really needs to change his name…I'm tired of people laughing at it whenever Lamia Scale is mentioned." Lyon snapped, a vein threatening to pop in his head.

"And I first thought that OUR guild name was pretty childish." Gray said, laughing.

"It still is childish." Lyon said, irrated. "Just like its members, who laugh at the sound of other people's names." He continued on pointedly.

"Ah, lighten up, man." Gray said, calming down at last and getting serious. "So what were you saying?"

"Right…our Master handpicked a few people in our guild to tell this information to. Jura and I were amongst the ones picked. The Council asked us to work with them in finding these Kin of Purgatory, and to assist them if they ever manage to discover their whereabouts." Lyon said. He turned to Gray. "Now, as for why I'm telling you this…there's a certain Kin or Purgatory whose name you'll find familiar-"

"Ultear." Gray said suddenly. He remembered that he wasn't alone when Ul had told them the story of her daughter, Ultear. Lyon was with him as well.

"er…yeah, Ultear. How did you-" Lyon began, but Gray interrupted again.

"I fought her on Tenrou." Lyon's eyes widened.

"W-what was she like?" He asked.

"She…was initially psychotic. Remember how Ul told us about her? Well, apparently she thought that her mother had hated her, and gave her up for us. After she almost killed Juvia-" Lyon's hands clenched- "we fought. She's strong, VERY strong. I'd say she was even stronger than Erza." Gray said. "But, she remembered Ul, and I explained that she really did love her, and never stopped loving her. After a while, she gave up fighting me. The last time I remember, she saw me off when I left to find Hades."

"Hades? You fought their Guild Master?" Lyon asked.

"Yeah, but I wasn't alone. Long story short, we brought him down." Gray said.

The two were silent for a moment. "Wow…that's…impressive, Gray. Never thought you had that in you." Lyon said. "Well…according to official reports we received…she was last spotted with someone matching Jellal's physical description and another Kin of Purgatory with pink hair somewhere in the Worth Woodsea."

The air became deathly quiet.

"You…you're not kidding?" Gray said. The knot in his stomach loosened. She was alive, Ultear was alive! He was immensely relieved. "When?"

"About two months ago." Lyon said. "That's the last intel we ever got on them."

Gray understood. She was probably working with Jellal and Meredy to stay hidden, wherever they were. And if she was with Jellal…chances are they were up to something, or perhaps they were just focusing on staying alive. However, there was the constant danger on them being caught. He shuddered, imagining the utter terror she had to endure on a daily basis for the past seven years. For her to evade capture for this long…Gray couldn't help but admire her courage and cunning. She had Lamia Scale as well as other guilds on her tail…

"Wait, you said other guilds were told about this, right? Do you know which ones?" Gray asked.

"No. The Council didn't tell us that much. They didn't want this to become a scavenger hunt, as information on them could have been accidentally leaked and chaos may have erupted. They wanted to avoid as much guild competition as possible." Lyon said.

'Smart move, but it works more in favor of Ultear, Jellal, and Meredy.' Gray thought. The lack of competition in the hunt made the whole campaign for their capture much less enticing, which meant hiding was considerably easier than it could have been.

The sky was pitch-black, save for the moonlight. The doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall opened, and the silhouttes of Jura and Sherry could be discerned from the light. The two ice mages distinctly heard farewells being exchanged between Lamia Scale and various Fairy Tail members. Lyon stood up.

"Well, I think it's time for us to go." Lyon said, standing up. "Allright," Gray said, standing up with him. The two jumped from their position on the roof, and joined the crowd.

"You take care of yourself now, allright?" Lyon said.

"Right. Thanks for everything, Lyon." Gray said, smiling.

"BYE EYE-BROW BOY!" Natsu cheered.

"I told you, my name is Yuca!" The heavy-browed mage responded, annoyed. Most of Fairy Tail's members stood in front and waved and shouted farewells as Lamia Scale disappeared from sight. Then, most of them went inside the guild, save for two.

Gray was about to walk in to rejoin the party when Erza held her hand out, blocking him. He looked at the red-head's face. She had a serious look. "We need to talk." She said.

The two walked off behind the guild, safe from eavesdroppers.

"Yeah, what is it?" Gray asked cautiously.

"I overheard you and Lyon." Erza said.

"You…what!" Gray said, shocked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, especially right after hearing Jellal's name." Erza said apologetically.

"Oh…right…" Gray began awkwardly.

"So, I guess it's obvious what we have to do." Erza said.

"H-huh? What's that?" Gray said nervously.

"We find them." Erza said as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Gray relaxed, then smiled. "Y-yeah. Good idea, Erza. You excited to see Jellal, huh?"

"Yes, it feels good knowing that he's alive…but I want to know how he's doing. And what he's up to, hanging around with two women for the past seven years." She said, puffing out her cheeks and turning around.

Gray laughed quietly. "Wow, I never thought you were the jealous type, Erza." She whipped around.

"Who''reeyeschecked!" Erza said in one breath, her face as red as her hair.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down! I was kidding!" Gray said, putting his hands up. "But I know how you feel, I'd like to see Ultear again. And how she's doing."

The two were silent for a while.

"So…just the two of us?" Gray asked.

"I don't know…I think we should bring Natsu and Lucy with us. They've always cooperated with us. And…maybe Wendy as well. She's sort of on our team now, right?" Erza said.

"Yeah, sounds good." Gray agreed, as he really didn't have a better alternative.

"I think we should head out tomorrow. The sooner we act, the better." Erza said, as the two began walking back to the guild.

Gray nodded, his usual bored expression hiding his excitement well. He looked up at the starry sky.

'Wherever you are, Ultear…please stay safe. I'll find you. I promise.'

**Again, I promise to update weekly with this story.**

**I want this story to be gradual, I mean, three months is a long time, so I decided to show Gray's reaction at the news of Ultear here.**

**Reviews are LOVELY LOVE.**


	3. Chapter 3: Commencement

**Here's the update, just as promised. Enjoy :D**

**Thanks for the alerts, guys. I honestly wasn't expecting even this much little attention, given how this pair isn't really popular, and your reviews and alerts mean the world for me. It's my motivation to keep going.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, it wouldn't be a shounen manga.**

"So that's the story." Gray said, leaning back against the pillar of the wall in the Fairy Tail guild hall. He had just finished recounting Lyon's and his conversation the previous evening to Natsu and Lucy. Erza stood with the group, eyes closed and nodding.

"Wow," Lucy said, completely dumbfounded, "It just goes to show that, no matter how much we try to deny it, seven years really have passed."

"Well, what are we waiting for! Let's get going!" Natsu exclaimed to the group, "Let's see what other tasty flames Jellal managed to find!"

"I doubt Jellal has been collecting flames for you, Natsu." Lucy said, sighing at her partner's stupidity.

A loud yell suddenly rent the air in the guild, interrupting everyone's conversations. Heads turned curiously towards the bar.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT, ROMEO! I'VE SAID IT SO MANY TIMES I'M STARTING TO LOSE HAIR!" Macao yelled at his son, who responded with equal gusto.

"YOU'RE NOT THE MASTER ANYMORE, DAD! GRAMPS IS BACK! HE'LL DECIDE IF FAIRY TAIL PARTICIPATES OR NOT!" Romeo roared right back.

"Hold on, what's this about?" Mirajane asked curiously.

Makarov sat cross-legged on the bar table, eyes closed, scratching his chin. He was apparently in deep thought. "The Grand Magic Games, huh?"

"Did you just say 'Games,' Master?" Erza asked, highly intrigued. There wasn't any competition that escaped her knowledge.

"A competition?" Gajeel said excitedly, rising up from his seat next to Levy, who looked less than happy at the interruption.

"Hold on, it really isn't something to get excited over." Alzack said warningly.

"Yes, we've gone through hell in the past because of it." Bisca said.

"But it's different now! With Gildarts-san and Laxus-nii and the others here, there's no way we can lose!" Romeo called out to Alzack and Bisca angrily.

"Will someone cut the crap and tell us what this 'Grand Magic Games' is?" Laxus said irritably, with his arms folded and his famous scowl on his face. Gildarts chuckled from right next to him.

"It's a festival in which all of the magical guilds in Fiore come together and compete in different events. Basically it tests every guild's strengths and sees which is the strongest." Wakaba explained.

"Sounds AWESOME!" Natsu said eagerly. "AYE!" Happy said in agreement, sitting with Charle and Pantherlily.

"Hold on, when is it?" Gray asked.

"Three months," Romeo said, happy to get a few people interested. He turned to Makarov, and decided to use the trump card. "And the winner gets thirty million jewel!"

Makarov's eyes lit up instantly. He jumped into a standing position and pointed upward. "WE'RE GOING!"

The guild instantly reacted, half of it cheering jovially while the other half groaned in resignation.

"Allright, brats! Get yourselves revved up for training! We've all got a lot of ground to cover, given that seven years have past! Get to work!" Makarov exclaimed.

Once again, loud cheers filled the guild.

Gray smiled as he watched his comrades discuss training plans with each other animatedly. Lucy had gone off to join Levy, Lisanna, and Juvia. Natsu went absolutely ballistic, breathing fire everywhere, throwing Macao and Wakaba into fits of panic, and Erza had disappeared from sight entirely. Deciding he needed some fresh air, he exited the guild hall and stood out in the front, staring off into the wooden clearing.

'A national magic competition, huh?' Gray thought. He could not deny his excitement at showcasing his abilities in magic to the rest of the country in an arena. But there was the issue of training and magic power again. Gray understood that he was clearly lacking in strength compared to his rivals. Lyon had certainly surpassed him in the seven years. Also, though Gray would never admit it out loud, there was no doubt that Natsu's newfound acquisition of Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic placed him at a level higher than his own.

Gray looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He remembered his plans with Erza to set out with Natsu and Lucy to find Ultear. The sudden revelation of the Grand Magic Games changed everything. He wanted to compete in this competition as a Fairy Tail mage but he also wanted to meet Ultear again. Yet both tasks seemed to demand a lot of time and effort, and only three months stood between him and the Grand Magic Games.

"Thinking hard, huh?" Erza appeared right next to Gray, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. It's just…I've got a tough decision to make." Gray said, frustrated.

"I know how you feel. I want to see Jellal again, but I also want to train to compete in this tournament." Erza said. The two were quiet for a while.

Gray realized that if he wanted to stay relevant not only in the Grand Magic Games, but in Fairy Tail as well, he would have to progress at a huge rate in improving his magical abilities and getting stronger. That obviously called for some serious, intense training. Which had to start as soon as possible.

Gray also recalled his fight with Ultear. She was definitely more skilled and powerful than him in Creation Magic, but also possessed an extremely powerful Lost Magic ability in the Arc of Time. If it weren't for the memories of her mother, Gray was absolutely certain that Ultear would have killed him easily.

He realized that if he were to somehow find Ultear, he would really serve no good to her. She did not know that he was alive, or if he could be trusted. In fact, she may even regard him as a threat. And even if she didn't, even if she was somehow welcoming of him, there wasn't anything he could do to help her escape her current predicament. He wasn't strong enough to protect her, given how she was more powerful than him as it was. He would also be unable to rid her of her criminal status, given that Fairy Tail had always been looked down upon by the Council and that it had hit a solid rock-botton over the past seven years. Both of those problems would only be fixed with one answer, and that was to train to compete in the Grand Magic Games. If he trained to become strong, he would be powerful enough to protect Ultear. And if Fairy Tail made a good showing as well as behaved well at Grand Magic Games, perhaps the Council would develop good faith and trust in Fairy Tail, enough for the guild to make a legal request on her behalf.

"Gray! Erza!" Lucy's voice rang out to them. The two turned, and saw her running out to join them. "So how about looking for Jellal and Ultear? Let's get going?"

The three were silent for a moment. Gray and Erza exchanged looks.

"I…I don't think so, Lucy. We'll have to go at a later time. Probably after the tournament." Erza said, finally. Gray wondered if she had the same reasoning he did.

"Why?" Lucy asked disbelievingly. "The last that we've heard, they were in the Worth Woodsea, we don't know where they will be three months from now!"

Gray thought that was a valid point, but decided to leave the discussion to Erza. To his dismay, however, Erza gave him a look that said say-something-damn-it.

"We have to think of Fairy Tail first, Lucy. We owe our comrades, and they need us right now more than ever." Gray said after a minute.

Lucy looked at both of them, and saw the hesitancy in their faces. She smiled softly and understood. "It's allright to say that you care, you know. You should-"

"CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!" Natsu bellowed, running over to them. Gray mentally thanked Natsu for sparing him and Erza of whatever sentimentality Lucy had in store for them in her lecture.

"Sup, flame-brain?" Gray responded.

"I need a training partner for the tournament. So pack your stuff, you and I are going camping for three months to train!" Natsu said eagerly to Gray.

Gray froze. He had not been expecting this.

"Erm…what about Happy or Gajeel?" He asked.

"Happy wants to hang out with Charle, and she and Wendy aren't interested in the competition. And why the hell would I want to go with metal-head? Besides, he bragged about going off with Lily on a 'secret mission' or something." Natsu said. "So how about it?"

Gray looked back at Natsu. "I can't. I'm planning to undergo some intense training myself."

Natsu was confused. "That's what I'm doing, too."

"Right, but I'll be training to increase my magical power more so than my physical abilities. I doubt the conditions be suitable for you." Gray said.

"Oh, you'll be heading up north, then? Isvan? When are you leaving?" Natsu asked. Gray was surprised Natsu was able to deduce that.

"Yeah, Isvan." Gray responded, though he had one specific location in mind. "Probably tomorrow."

"Well, allright then, good luck." Natsu said, turning around and walking off. "Make sure your pants don't freeze off there."

"Well…I'll be off training with Levy at the beach. You guys take care of yourselves!" Lucy said, following Natsu to the guild. Gray and Erza smiled in farewell.

"You won't be going alone, right? Do you have a training partner in mind?" Erza asked.

"Nah, not really. Going alone might be for the best." Gray said.

"It never is, Gray. You need someone there to motivate you, to correct you, to keep you going in case you begin doubting yourself." Erza scolded him.

"Who are you going with, then? Where do you plan on going, anyway?" Gray countered.

"I've decided to tag along with Natsu. Someone's got to keep him in check." Erza said. "Well, I'll see you in three months then, Gray." She headed down the roads, presumably to Fairy Hills.

Gray frowned as he headed back to the guild hall. He did not like the idea of separating from his comrades, especially right after they had not seen them for seven years. But, it was best for Fairy Tail at the moment.

He entered the guild hall, and found it much emptier than when he had left it. Apparently people had already set out on their training missions. He sat on a nearby bench and looked at the remaining members, trying to figure which would be suitable as a training companion. His eyes suddenly fell on Juvia, who was talking to Lisanna near the request board. He made his way over to her.

The next afternoon saw Gray and Juvia hobbling off the train station at a town a few miles south of the land of Isvan.

"Juvia wonders when Gray-sama will tell her where they are headed." Juvia asked nervously.

"For the last time, I told you I can't disclose that information until we're out of earshot." Gray said, irritated at her. If there was any word as to the location of Ul's place of residence there was no doubt there would be wackos and nutjobs from the Magic Council who would try to make a museum out of her house, which was the last place Gray had good memories of before Fairy Tail.

Gray found himself wondering why he had picked Juvia to accompany him yet again, before quickly dispelling that thought, remembering her capabilities.

Juvia was certainly sharp when she wanted to be, making her an intelligent partner who would be able to spot his weaknesses. She would also be completely unaffected by the cold climate in Isvan, given that her Water Magic enabled her to maintain her body temperature and prevent hypothermia. Lastly, she was quite a formidable mage, as she was amongst the guild's strongest non S-Class mages along with himself, Natsu, Freed, Gajeel, and Elfman.

The two were quiet as they trekked up the mountain. Waves upon waves of nostalgia came over Gray with every step they took. At last, Ul's house finally came to view.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia asked as they walked, her blue eyes on the wooden house before them.

"Oh, right, sorry for not telling you on the way up. This is my master Ul's house. Lyon and I trained with her here." Gray explained.

"And why couldn't you tell Juvia of this place before?" She asked.

"Didn't want to risk anyone else finding out about it." He said nonchalantly, as went up to the door.

He turned the knob and pushed it open, and certainly did not expect what he saw in the living room of the house. Gray froze.

"What's wrong, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked, instantly on enemy alert, her eyes serious. She came up behind him and peeked over his shoulder and gasped.

Sitting upon the red rug were two women, a younger-looking one with pink hair, and the older one with raven-colored hair. In between them lay a photo album, and right next to the older woman stood an lit lantern.

"Ul…Ultear." Gray mumbled in disbelief.

A warm look quickly covered Ultear's initially shocked face as she heard him call out her name. Her eyes glistened with relief and joy in the light the lantern gave off.

"Finally, I get to see you again, Gray Fullbuster." Ultear said softly, smiling.

**So they FINALLY meet, huh? Just as promised before, people, I'll update within a week.**

**Remember to review; they mean everything to me. Suggestions, ideas, rants, praises, they all are welcomed with open arms. **

**See you guys soon!**


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion

**Update time! **

**Sorry that it's a day late, but I'd just been going through...some tough stuff right now. But it's allright now. :D**

**As usual, enjoy the chapter. (I hope)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Mirajane would have been on Team Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games, not Gajeel. (Sorry, Gajeel fans)**

The air was deathly still for several moments. It was amazing how the fire in the oil lantern had managed to continue burning in its container as if nothing had happened to disturb the light it casted in the room. The silence was broken first by Meredy.

"Juvia!" The pink head mage called excitedly, jumping up and roughly tackling Juvia to the wall beside the door right behind Gray.

"Hrmph…Meredy-san?" Juvia asked surprisedly.

"It's been so long! And you still look so young!" Meredy said excitedly as she gave Juvia a rib-crushing hug. Ultear couldn't help but smile widely at her apprentice's excitement at seeing her friend.

"Yeah it has…and you look so much-" Juvia paused, before glancing down at Meredy's breasts, "bigger! Juvia is so jealous of you. I hope I can grow as pretty as you have, Meredy-san."

Ultear chuckled at the conversation the two were having, before her eyes flickered back to Gray's dumbfounded expression. Gray was overcome with embarrassment as he realized he was caught staring at her, and quickly looked at the floor. Ultear could have sworn she saw the lightest tinge of pink grace his cheeks.

Silence fell for several moments, save for the excited discussion the two younger girls were having in the corner, and it was as comfortable for Ultear as it was awkward for Gray. She studied him. He hadn't aged a bit, which confirmed Jellal's theory that time had probably stopped at Tenrou. He was exactly the same as how he had haunted Ultear's conscience for the past seven years with his unkempt spiky onyx hair and handsome features.

Gray cursed himself for feeling shy and pulled himself together. He suppressed all of his disbelief, relief, and joy and focused on practical matters. "How…what are you doing here?" He asked. Unfortunately, he wasn't unable to repress his shock, and that was evident his tone.

Ultear cringed internally; as there was no mistaking the revulsion on his tone. She felt her heart break; she had hoped that he would have been happy to see her. "I…I just wanted to visit my mother's place." She said.

Gray wondered why she sounded so depressed. "O-oh…makes sense." He responded. Hundreds of questions were flying into his head, and he could not choose one to ask.

To his surprise, though, Ultear stood up. "Well, I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll be going now." She said, gesturing for Meredy to leave with her. If Gray truly hated her, then she would not stop him. He had every right to hate her, given how much wrong she had done him and his friends. Meredy looked dejected, she had wanted to talk to Juvia more. The two fugitive mages head out the door and began to walk on the path back to town.

"W-wait! You…you can't leave! I just got here!" Gray said, running over to the doorway. "At least answer some of my questions!" He was crestfallen that she had suddenly wanted to leave.

Ultear looked back at him, her face impassive. "What is it?"

"I thought you were with Jellal. What happened?" He asked.

Sudden shock flitted across her face. "W-what? What makes you think that?" She asked. She would not confirm his suspicions. There was no doubt he probably heard about the ongoing search for her, Jellal, and Meredy. And if he hated her, he would probably want to hand them over to the Council.

"I heard from a friend. You've freed Jellal and been on the run for the past seven years." Gray said. "Last place you were seen together was Worth Woodsea."

'Damn…so it was a good idea to temporarily disband Crime Sorciere's activities.' Ultear thought. Otherwise, they would have probably still been in the wooded region, facing definite capture.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said firmly, turning her back to him. "But we really have to go, now. And don't try to follow us, Gray."

Gray was shocked. Did she still resent him for stealing her mother's love? Is that why Ultear still hated him? Anger came over him. How could be so unreasonable and selfish? Did she still not understand the meaning of her mother's sacrifice?

"You're not leaving 'till I say you're leaving!" He yelled out to her. He jumped the steps and put his fist into his other open hand.

"Gray-sama! No!" Juvia called from behind him.

"ICE MAKE: PRISON!" Gray roared. A large cage of ice suddenly materialized, trapping Ultear and Meredy.

Within a split second, though, the bars to the cage were cleanly cut through, causing the cage to shatter into pieces. Ultear stood with her right arm outstretched, holding a gigantic ice scimitar. Her face was one filled with sorrow but determined. She was saddened by the fact that Gray seemingly hated her, but she would not risk the welfare of Meredy and Jellal. She put aside her feelings and mustered her resolve to kill Gray.

Gray, on the other hand, was stunned. She had wordlessly summoned an ice-sword and had broken right through his prison, a feat no other wizard he had ever encountered before managed to do.

"Ultear!" Meredy called out, but it wasn't the usual request for command she would make in battle. Instead it sounded pleading.

"I'm sorry, Meredy. I know that your friend loves him, but he is a threat to us." Ultear quietly told her. Meredy looked back at her. "But..but Ul!"

"If you do not wish to help me, that is fine. I understand." Ultear said. Meredy saw the tears that flew out of her surrogate mother's eyes as she launched herself at Gray.

'Gray-sama! Stop! You can't hurt her, please!" Juvia pleaded.

"The hell with you! I've have it with selfish people like you, Ultear!" Gray said. He quickly struck Juvia on the back of her head, knocking her out cold. He caught her as she fell forward. "I'm sorry, Juvia. But I need you to stay out of this." He propped her limp form on the side of the house.

Gray turned back to Ultear and put his fist to his palm again. "Ice Make: Lance!"

Ultear wordlessly summoned a shield of ice, reflecting the many ice spears right back at Gray, who quickly dodged to his left.

'How are my lances reflecting back? Shouldn't they just shatter on her shield?' He thought frantically. He rolled over and looked back up. Ultear charged right at him, an ice sword in hand.

He barely had enough time to dodge as she swung at him. She was hot on his heels, though, and continued to swing repeatedly at him, not giving him a chance to counter. Gray continued to dodge and turn, avoiding her attacks.

Realizing that he couldn't do anything up close, he propelled himself backward, landing twenty or so meters in front of Ultear. "Ice Make: Dagger!" He called, creating a sharp small dagger.

The two stood silently, facing each other. Gray felt exhausted. He hadn't trained in cold weather for a long time, so much of his stamina had been used up simply trying to match with Ultear's speed. It was clearly obvious that Ultear was stronger than he was, and he did not see how he would beat her alone. He considered trying to call to Juvia to help him, but that would merely put her in danger, since Meredy would probably jump in.

Suddenly, Ultear's body shattered into bits of ice, stunning Gray. 'Ice clone!' He thought.

Gray barely had a second to register as he turned around and quickly threw his body to the right, seeing Ultear's sword where his heart had been a mere split second ago. Ultear pulled back, readying herself for another attack, and Gray seized his chance. He grabbed her hands, spun around her and quickly swung his dagger horizontally at her upper shoulders, aiming to at least maim her.

She leapt forward, and the dagger missed her for inches, but not before it cut right through her hair. Thousands of long raven-colored hair strands fell onto the snow between them. Ultear turned around and pulled her sword back, ready to impale Gray with it.

Gray prepared to dodge but suddenly froze as he saw her face. The short purple hair reaching down to her neck, the fierce yet sorrowful look in her eyes, Ultear looked just like…

"Ul?" Gray whispered hoarsely.

Ultear heard him say her mother's name just as she lunged at him, slashing at his side. Her eyes widened. "Gray…" she said. A deep gash formed on the side of Gray's abdomen.

Gray fell back onto the snow, with Ultear falling on top of him. The sword disintegrated, leaving behind a fresh, open wound on Gray's side. Blood began to soak the snow, turning its color from pure-white to red.

"Gray…you…" Ultear said. Her breath was caught in her throat, and her eyes widened with horror as she looked into his face.

"I'm…I'm so sorry…Ul…" Gray said, his voice cracking as tears poured out down the side of his face, into his hair. His face was scrunched up in pain as he looked into Ultear's face. "I'm sorry….I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" His voice was getting weaker and weaker with every apology.

Ultear could not believe her ears. This was all wrong, SHE was the one who supposed to apologizing to him! Before she could stop herself, her own tears began to cascade onto Gray's face.

"NO! Stop! Please, Gray!" Ultear cried out. She felt Meredy get closer to them.

"I'm sorry….I'm sorry….I'm sorry….I'm sorry…" Gray's voice continued to slow down and get quieter, but the torrent of tears flowing from his eyes was still as strong as ever.

"It's ok!" Ultear screamed, grabbing him around the shoulders and pulling him to herself. " It's ok, It's ok, it's ok! Stop it, please! Save your strength!" She sobbed.

"Meredy! We have to save him, come on!" Ultear said. "Get a bed ready, some water, and our medical kit!"

"Right!" Meredy responded instantaneously. She dashed off towards the house.

By now, Gray's voice had reached close to inaudible level. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" He continued to moan quietly. Ultear mustered all of the strength she had in her body and lifted him in her arms. He was heavier than she thought. Blood continued to splash onto the snow from his wound.

"Gray, hold on. Don't die on me, don't you dare die." Ultear said as she made her way own through the snow as quickly as possible. She looked upward, and saw a storm coming from the side of the mountain. Getting a doctor was now officially going to be nearly impossible.

Ultear ran inside the house. Meredy guided her to the nearest bed in a room.

She laid down Gray on the sheets. She noticed that his apologies had stopped, and he was merely panting.

"Meredy! We have to stop the bleeding!" Ultear called out desperately.

"How! How!" Meredy asked frantically.

And the answer came to Ultear at the force of a speeding train. Cursing herself for her stupidity and panic, she put her hands to the injury and quickly conjured up an ice brace.

Slowly, the blood flow ceased, until it had stopped entirely. Gray continued to pant, his eyes unfocused.

"Meredy, Juvia is still out in front. Bring her in quickly, there's a storm coming." Ultear said.

Meredy was out before Ultear had finished her sentence.

At this point, there was really not much she could do. Thankfully, while he had lost a considerable amount of blood, he had not lost enough for his life to be in danger. She would have to wait a while before stitching up his wound.

Ultear pulled up a chair next to Gray's bed and sat, putting her face in her hands and her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward.

"I can't believe this. How…why did it have to be this way…" she thought desperately, but held in her tears. She would not cry. She needed to be strong for him.

Meredy brought in Juvia, and laid her in another bed in the same room.

Ultear looked over at her. "How is she?"

"She's just unconscious, that's all. She'll be fine." Meredy said, staring at her friend in sadness.

They were quiet for several minutes, save for the rumbling from the outside. The storm had settled in.

"Ultear?" Meredy asked uncertainly.

"Hmm?" She responded tiredly.

"Why…are we saving him?" She asked. "I thought we had to get rid of him…"

Ultear was quiet. She could not think of an answer. She couldn't come up with a good, logical explanation as for why she tried to save the life of the one who she was fighting to kill mere minutes ago. The only thing she knew was that the moment she had heard him call for her mother in that pleading voice that she could not see him as an enemy.

"I-I just had to. He's…" Ultear felt uncomfortable putting this into words. She felt emotionally drained at the moment. "Listen, we'll talk about this later. I need to be alone for a while with him."

Meredy nodded in understanding. She left the room and headed into the kitchen. Ultear heard the sound of the stove going off, and surmised that Meredy had begun to make some food. Ultear looked back at Gray.

There was no doubting it; the two children of Ul would have a long talk once Gray regained consciousness.

**And there we have it. I know it's not the reunion that some of you were prepared for, but this is what had played out in my head. **

**I know that some of you will probably be upset that it ended up like this. Hopefully, you'll be upset enough to leave a review? XD**

**I'll update within a week, as usual. **

**EDIT 8/24/2012: Sorry, but I've been EXTREMELY busy throughout the past month, it's absolutely ridiculous. I do have the next few chapters in the works, BELIEVE ME. I know that many of you are disappointed by this reunion, and trust me, your questions as to why this happened will be answered soon. I'll update soon, I promise. **

**Review, please!**


	5. Chapter 5: Explanations

**After just over a month...it's back. :)**

**Sooo sorry to keep you folks waiting for so long. Not gonna bother giving excuses, just go ahead and enjoy the chapter. :D**

**Thanks again to all fellow readers and writers for their constructive and pleasant feedback, be it questions, concerns, rants, or praises!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, I would not have had the stupid cliffhanger at the end of Cahpter 297 (Then again maybe I would have).**

Natsu was feeling extremely irritated.

Truth be told, he had felt excited at the prospect of training alone. Sure, he was initially bummed that Gray turned down his offer to train with him, but he had realized later that some solo practice would be good, considering that he wanted to impress everyone, particularly a certain blonde Celestial mage, with his prowess in his Lightning magic in conjunction with his usual Fire Dragon Slayer Magic at the Grand Magic Games.

And having Erza come along was ruining that glorious proposition. She wouldn't even take a challenge from him for a serious fight!

"How long are we gonna walk? Are we looking for something?" Natsu asked Erza as they walked in the deep, dark thickets of Worth Woodsea.

"No, we're not looking for anything specific…maybe a nice spacious clearing, where we could train." Erza responded in her usual calm and authoritative manner.

"Are you kidding me? Why didn't we just camp out in the open fields?" Natsu asked disbelievingly.

"Well…I felt that it would be better for us to train in here…this place has that awful feeling of familiarity…a feeling I'd like to exploit. Perhaps we can root ourselves in this feeling and attain better motivation for our training." Erza said, before turning to him and glaring daggers, "So get serious. No fooling around!"

"Allright, I got it!" Natsu said, raising his hands, clearly frightened by Erza and her classic Titania grace. "I don't get what you said, but duh this place seems familiar; we beat the hell out of Oracion Seis here." Natsu said.

"Yes, but I'm referring to something else…" Erza said, trailing off into her thoughts.

"Whatever, Erza. If it's a clearing you want it's a clearing you'll GET!" Natsu said, swinging his arms around him as he conjured flames.

"Wait, hold on!" Erza yelled.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu bellowed as his flames engulfed all of the trees in the vicinity, creating a massive fireball explosion. Unexpectedly, though, a stranger's voice suddenly rent the air and could be heard over the roar of the flames.

"Damn it!"

Natsu turned towards the direction of the voice and clenched his fists. "Who said that?" He called out warningly.

Once the dust cleared, Natsu, while still remaining on full alert, raked his eyes over the scene and admired his handiwork. He had done his best to concentrate the heavy fire of his attack above ground so that the earth wouldn't be damaged. He smiled inwardly, feeling content with his progress on controlling his power. Just then, he felt a heavy fist collide with the top of his head, causing him to squeal and grasp at his head.

"YOU FOOL! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Erza screamed and grabbed his ear.

"I'm…sorry…" Natsu said as he blinked back tears of pain and prepared to retort when the strange voice called again, only this time, it sounded questioning.

"Erza?"

"Who's there?" Natsu got in his defensive stance and looked around.

"_Jellal_?" Erza said disbelievingly. Natsu turned to Erza and followed her line of sight.

And indeed, just a couple of meters ahead of them, stood the blue-haired mage. He was wearing a black cloak over what appeared to be custom-made armor. Some of his cloak appeared to be scorched off.

"Erza. And Natsu as well." Jellal said, smiling.

"Yo, Jellal! You're looking well!" Natsu said cheerily.

"Well…most of me," Jellal said, lifting off his cloak to inspect the singed hems, which were still smoking, "Though I must say, your magic's looking quite as extraordinary as over, Natsu. I barely managed to get away from that…whatever that attack was."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Natsu said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "Erza here wanted a some training space so I thought, what the heck, and tried make some…Erza?"

Erza had a frozen look in her eyes and she slowly stepped towards Jellal. "Jellal…"

"Your eyes are not deceiving you, Erza. It's really me." Jellal said softly. "I'm so glad to see that you're alive and well…you look more beautiful than ever."

Erza smiled as she blinked back tears of joy. "Jellal…I never thought I'd see you again."

Natsu looked between the two. He didn't understand what was going on, but felt left out.

"So anyways," Natsu breaking the two out of their trance with a jolt, "what are you up to now, Jellal? Last I've heard, you broke out of jail."

"Oh, right." Jellal regained his composure, "To be more accurate, Ultear and Meredy broke me out of jail."

"Oh yeah, I've heard that too. Where are they?" Natsu said, looking over Jellal's shoulder and into the woods behind him.

"We decided to split up briefly, as part of our routine as a guild." Jellal said, taking note of Natsu's and Erza's looks of confusion.

"Guild?" Erza said.

"Right." Jellal took a deep breath. "It's long story."

* * *

Gray awoke to an absolutely wonderful aroma that filled him with intense, heartbreaking nostalgia. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the wood of what he supposed was a ceiling. He noted that he was feeling extremely warm and comfortable. Gray tilted his head sideways, facing the window, and observed as a snowstorm roared along outside.

'Back in the house, I guess.' He thought tiredly. He suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath from his left. Startled, he turned.

To his shock, he saw Ul, his teacher, sleeping soundly right beside him. She lay on his bed facing him, her hand over his on his chest.

"Ul!" Gray cried out with happiness, bolting upright and grabbing her shoulders, trying to shake her. Ultear's eyes fluttered open. Gray was suddenly hit with a pang of pain on his abdomen and winced, putting his hands over the offending body part.

"Gray! Don't move too much, you might reopen it!" Ultear called out and she grabbed his shoulders.

"Reopen…wha…?" Gray breathed out in confusion, before remembering. Right, he had gotten this serious wound, and was bleeding out before Ul saved him…

"Come on, lay back down. Slowly, now." Ultear said soothingly as she lowered him back into his laying position.

"How…how are you here?" Gray asked, still staring at her.

Ultear's eyes softened as they looked back into his. "I'm…I'm not Ul, Gray. It's me, Ultear." She said, feeling nervous about his response.

His eyes widened in shock, then hardened instantly as he remembered his fight with her. Suddenly, it all clicked. She had given him that wound. And she had saved him. "W-what happened? Why didn't you kill me?"

Ultear looked down at her lap. She then got off the bed and sat in the chair next to him. "I couldn't…I just couldn't…not after I heard you call my mother's name." She said finally.

"Oh." Gray responded after a while.

"I'm sorry." Gray and Ultear said simultaneously, at last.

Both of their eyes widened as they looked at each other.

"You…what are you apologizing for?" Ultear asked, curious. She was reminded of his constant streams of apologies as he was bleeding out.

"I…uh," Gray looking to the side embarrassedly, "For attacking you so suddenly. I just wanted you to stay for a bit and talk, and you were just…cold shouldering me. It annoyed me. So I did the only thing that came to mind in making you stay…and used my Ice Cage." Gray closed his eyes. "I know it was wrong, and I'm sorry for that…I probably made you think I meant to capture you, considering your extreme self-defense."

Ultear let this sink in. She was cold-shouldering _him?_ What on earth gave him that idea? And with that last part…he never meant to have her arrested? She felt her spirits soar at the thought.

Gray held in his breath as he waited for her response.

"So you weren't trying to capture Meredy and I?" Ultear asked, feeling elated.

"No. I just wanted to talk to you more." Gray asked. Meredy's name being brought up reminded him of someone else.

"Juvia! Where's Juvia!?" He asked frantically, trying to sit up again, only to have Ultear's hands gently hold his shoulders down.

"She's fine, she's just asleep over there." Ultear said, gesturing to her bed on the other side of the room, where the water mage lay sleeping peacefully.

Gray's eyes filled with regret as he stared at Juvia. "I'm so sorry, Juvia." He whispered.

Gray felt disgusted with himself. Not only had he was quick to resort to violence just because he felt agitated at someone he should be considering family, he had also knocked out his most loyal comrade out of poor judgement, thinking he could take down Ultear easily. "Damn it." He said, feeling his throat constrict. A gap in strength was one barrier to overcome, but now his temper and battle judgement were in question too?

"Look, I'm sorry too. Don't be hard on yourself, now." Ultear said. She was finding it hard to believe that this was the same man who had saved her from her darkness all this time. Here he was, going through an internal conflict of his own. A subject change was in need.

"I'm sorry for trying to kill you, Gray. I'm sorry about…this." She said, looking at his injury. "I've put an ice brace to stop the bleeding, but it seems you'll need a doctor to look it over further…and we won't be able to get one in this storm."

"It's nothing, I'm OK. The cuts I gave myself when fighting you on Tenrou were deeper than this, and I made it out…I can wait." Gray said, sighing deeply.

"How about we start over?" Ultear asked.

Gray looked at her and drank in her appearance for the first time. She was still beautiful as when he had met her on Tenrou Island. Seven years really hadn't done anything to her. If anything, she looked more like Ul than ever, which was quite fitting, considering how she had changed for the better.

Ultear chuckled as he ogled at her. "What?" She asked innocently.

That broke him out of his thoughts. "Er-nothing. Yeah, let's start over…it's good to see you, Ultear," Gray said, smiling.

Ultear returned the smile. "You too. You have no idea…how happy I was to hear you were alive."

"Funny, seeing as you were fighting to kill me a few…hours ago?" He joked, posing the last part of his statement as a question as he had no idea how much time had passed.

Ultear's smile disappeared, leaving a somber expression in its wake. "Yes, it's been a few hours…It was just…I could not risk the safety of Meredy and I if you were to report us to the Magic Council. We would have probably been imprisoned for our crimes…we had to continue living, it was our duty. I thought that the best way to do that was to eliminate you as a threat. So I put aside all of my feelings, as I've done many times…and set my mind on doing what I had to."

"Well, I'm not a threat…even if I wanted to be. What's this about a duty?" Gray asked.

Ultear weighed her options. She felt an instinctual desire to confide in Gray, almost as if bonds of kinship demanded it. It might have gone against what Jellal had planned, but she felt that she owed Gray an explanation, given that he did save her.

"My guild oath…it's my duty to ensure I do all I possibly can to atone for my crimes. Seeing death as a punishment is the coward's way out. We will stand up and live on. That is the only path to redemption. That is what it means to be a Crime Sorciere mage." Ultear said proudly, sitting straight.

"Crime…Sorciere?" Gray asked, confused. "How did you join a guild? Aren't you a fugitive?"

"It's a guild I co-founded with Meredy and Jellal." Ultear responded.

"Jellal! So you are with him!" Gray exclaimed.

"Yeah, I am. We're an independent guild; we seek to eliminate all dark guilds…as well as do what we can to destroy the source and inspiration for dark magic as a whole." Ultear said.

"Wait, though…why isn't he with you and Meredy right now?" Gray asked.

"Our guild takes short leaves for a while…we are all hunted by the Magic Council, as we generally leave a good trail to follow. Splitting up makes it looks like we are continuously losing focus and lacking unity, which is very typical of independent guilds." Ultear said.

"Food is ready, Ul!" Meredy's voice suddenly called out from the kitchen.

"Wait a second, I'll bring it here." Ultear said, getting up from her chair. Gray nodded, and she left the room.

* * *

"That sounds AWESOME!" Natsu said excitedly, after Jellal had finished his explanation.

"Indeed. Your guild's aims are worthy and honorable." Erza said. "I'm glad you were able to find meaning with life."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Jellal said. "I usually don't get compliments on my guild's work, but you can imagine why."

"I…have something to ask you, Jellal." Erza said, her voice suddenly serious. "Did you make any progress on recovering your memories?"

Jellal looked down at the ground, a look of sorrow crossing his face. "Yes. Every last one of them."

"So…about Simon…" Erza began but trailed.

"Yes, I killed him." Jellal said morosely.

The three were quiet for several minutes, with Erza and Natsu completely unsure of what to say.

"I know that my duty is to live to fight a better day for everyone else, and I will see through to that. I assure you." Jellal said seriously, his face looking determined.

Erza smiled again, feeling her heart swell with happiness. That was the Jellal she had remembered many, many years ago, back during their childhood days at the Tower of Heaven. That was the Jellal who was determined to protect and save his friends. That was the Jellal she had loved.

"Now I think I should be asking some questions." Jellal said, feeling much more at ease and comfortable. "What are you guys doing walking around here? Granted, though, I was thrilled to see you, and followed you for bit, but what are you two doing walking alone? In the woods?" Jellal could not help giving a look of slight resentment at Natsu for being with Erza.

"We're on a training session. We're training for the Grand Magic Games." Erza said, wondering why Jellal was looking at Natsu like that.

Jellal looked up, reminded of the plan he devised with Ultear and Meredy. Apparently, there was no need for trying to solicit certain members to ask for advice. Might as well tell them now, Jellal thought, I'll just tell Ultear and Meredy later about this.

"That reminds me. I have something to talk to you about that."

* * *

"A dark presence? At the Grand Magic Games?" Gray asked, sitting upright in the bed with his back against the headboard.

"Right. And we've been trying to figure out how we can investigate that, but of course we've been unable to approach that stadium grounds." Ultear said as she tilted the spoon into Gray's mouth, feeding him the soup.

"At first, we thought it was normal, given how the most powerful mages in Fiore were congregating in one place, but we came to realize that this presence was truly evil and was way too similar to Zeref." Meredy said.

"Zeref, huh? That doesn't sound promising…and you're asking for my help?" Gray said.

"Your guild's help, to be more accurate. I'm assuming you'll be going, right?" Ultear asked, and Gray nodded. "We'd like for you to do some poking around, find some more information that could be of use for us. We know it's a tall order, but-" Ultear said, but Gray interrupted her.

"I don't think there'll be a problem. I'm pretty sure Master Makarov and Gildarts will be intrigued by that. Hell, maybe Laxus also. We'll take care of that." Gray said.

"Thanks," Ultear said, smiling. "It means a lot to us, really."

"Jellal will definitely be happy to hear this." Meredy said, and Ultear nodded back.

The three ate in silence for a bit, with Ultear feeding Gray.

"Gray-sama…" Juvia suddenly moaned and opened her eyes. She took a moment to draw in her surroundings, before gasping.

"Meredy-san, Ultear-san! Gray-sama!" She cried out. The three looked at her, surprised.

"Finally you woke up!" Meredy said.

"Juvia…sorry about earlier." Gray said, regret in his voice.

"But…what…" Juvia said, confused as she pointed from one person to the other.

"We worked it all out. We're not enemies anymore." Ultear said.

"Oh…" Juvia looked at Ultear. Her beauty and confident tone reminded her slightly of Erza. "I'm glad." She than brought a chair over and poured herself some soup.

"So what were guys doing up here, anyway?" Gray said, trying to attempt at conversation.

"I come by here periodically while we take our guild leaves; this was just another one of our visits. What about you two?" Ultear responded.

"I thought this place would serve as a suitable training location." Gray said.

"Indeed it is. For water-based magic user, arctic climates are always the best place to train endurance and stamina." Ultear said. Juvia was amazed at her intelligence.

Gray was hit with a sudden idea.

"How long will you guys be staying here?" He asked.

"Erm…we haven't really decided. Our break times and durations are irregular, to throw the Magic Council off track. It could be a few days, or month or two." Ultear said.

"Can you train me?" Gray asked excitedly.

"…train you?" Ultear repeated.

"Yes. I need to get stronger; I absolutely need to. And you…you're the strongest Ice Creation mage I've ever heard of and met after Ul." Gray said.

Ultear and Meredy looked at each other, and Juvia looked surprised.

"Juvia, we'll still train together, I promise. I just thought having someone with similar magic as me would be an excellent person to train with us." Gray said. "Plus…it'll give us time to get to know each other more."

That reasoning…particularly the getting-to-know-each-other part sounded very appealing to Ultear, who felt nothing but joy at the idea of spending time with one of her mother's students, who wasn't bad at all on the eyes, either.

"I think we can make that work." Ultear said.

"Yeah, sounds great! You and I can spend some time together too!" Meredy said eagerly to Juvia, who grinned back in response.

"Juvia would love that."

"So it's decided?" Gray said, beaming.

"Yes, we'll stay here for a while and train." Ultear smiled at Gray, before her voice turned somewhat serious. "But training with me won't be a walk in the park, either. You better be ready."

"Oh hell yeah I am!" Gray responded, with a look of determination and excitement at finally having found an answer to gaining strength. "Let's start RIGHT NOW!"

And just like that, he proceeded to kick off his covers before feeling an extremely painful stab of pain in his abdomen.

"Oh shit! Damn, damn, damn…" Gray grunted as he grabbed his abdomen.

"Gray!" Meredy said.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia said in concern as she stood up.

"Gray! I told you not to move too much!" Ultear said as she grabbed Gray's shoulders and eased him. "We won't be starting until you've recovered fully, Gray. We still need a doctor." Ultear said.

"Oh well…it can wait, I suppose. Three months is a long time." Gray said, relaxing a bit. He relished her warm hands on his shoulders.

He looked out the window and into the storm, which was still raging on outside. It wasn't putting any damper on his happy mood, though.

After seven long years, things were finally beginning to look up for Gray.

**I know that many of you were scratching your heads wondering what happened last chapter, and how things would turn out, and here you go.** **Quite a long chapter, I know. *coughIfyounoticedcough***

**I was very much annoyed at Jellal's lack of conviction and hesitancy in the manga in regards to Crime Sorciere. One would think that time in prison would serve a person well in strengthening their beliefs, and a jailbreak making them eager to redeem themselves.**

**Reviews, reviews, REVIEWS!**


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